The new education secretary may have a conflict of interest when making policy on faith schools, secular campaigners have claimed, pointing to a £5,000 donation from the Catholic church to fund an intern in his office.
Damian Hinds, a Catholic who attended a Catholic grammar school, has previously spoken in favour of scrapping a 50 per cent cap on how many places at faith-based free schools can be reserved for pupils who practise that particular faith.
Catholic bishops have called on the government to lift this cap, insisting that it prevents the Catholic church from opening any new free schools because they would have to turn away Catholic pupils once the 50 per cent quota was reached.
There are more than 2,100 Catholic schools in England, making up 10 per cent of state-funded schools.
Rotherham Politics 